


The first dance

by orphan_account



Series: A lifetime of dances [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Eventual Romance, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25954387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After their comeback from Neverland, Snow and Charming organise a party at the mansion. Regina and Emma find themselves isolated from the party in the garden and they start to talk, leading to a surprise or two. Situated shortly after Neverland.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Series: A lifetime of dances [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895743
Comments: 4
Kudos: 71





	The first dance

**Author's Note:**

> The song I used for this chapter is I am not nothing from Beth Crowley. I obviously don't own the lyrics.  
> I also don't own OUAT or any of the characters portrayed in this story.

Regina was terrified. They had finally rescued Henry from Neverland, but there was still something troubling her. The Savior. She sat in her garden, under her beloved apple tree, mulling over everything that happened since she stepped foot on that godforsaken island with the savior and the two idiots. Her mind flashed back to the moment she put back Henry’s heart. She had never been so scared in her entire life as she had been at that exact moment. But then Henry had pulled in a breath and she had never felt so relieved. The reprieve from heavy emotions didn’t last long tough. Henry had pulled her and Emma in a hug and their eyes had met over his head. At that moment Regina had known she was in deep. What she had seen in those emerald eyes, had shaken her to the core and she found that she could not let go of that intense gaze. Ever since the rescue party came back to Storybrooke, Regina had been avoiding Emma, but she couldn’t put her feelings behind her. Had she just imagined that loving look on Emma’s face? Was she just projecting her own feelings and hopes? Or was there something real to explore? Why was this all so confusing? She was a queen damnit! She shouldn’t be afraid, Emma never gave her a reason to, she could talk to her. Right? Right.

“You seem deep in thought, Your Majesty. Pondering over a new dark curse, are we?” came the teasing voice behind her. Great, she thought, the cause of all my worries. Although they had worked out a tentative partnership to take custody of Henry, they still weren’t friends by any means, but the teasing voice of Emma made her wish for more than this sterile relationship. She really had to talk to Emma, because she didn’t want to destroy what they had and by avoiding her like she had for the past few weeks, that was exactly what she was doing. She saw Emma approach from the corner of her eyes and her breath caught in her throat. Snow and David had organized a party at the mansion to celebrate their return. Of course, they hadn’t asked Regina, but they declared they had to keep an eye on her, so she wouldn’t do anything stupid. As if she would curse them all a second time, when she had finally found hope for her future again. Idiots. Regina was surprised to see Emma had dressed up for the occasion. And goddamn, she was a sight to behold. Her curly blond hair flew freely around her shoulders and she looked more like herself than since the curse broke. Apparently, she had finally decided to stop listening to Snow about fashion and it showed. She wore a well fitted suit and Regina mused she had never seen someone look that good in a suit. The suit was a deep shade of blue and it complemented her eyes perfectly. Emma was walking towards her with her hands in her pockets and despite her teasing and self-assured tone, she looked shy, almost like she feared her. It took Regina a moment to realize that she was still staring, but then Emma cleared her throat and Regina’s eyes snapped up. Emma’s head was cocked to the side and she looked at Regina with a curious gaze.

“I’m sorry, what did you say? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. I was plotting my revenge against those self-absorbed idiots that decided that throwing a party in my home, without asking me first, was perfectly acceptable.” She said, hoping that Emma wouldn’t catch the lie so she wouldn’t know what she was really thinking about.

Emma sighed. “So, I was right about the second dark curse?” she smirked. Then in a much softer tone she added “Can I sit here for a few minutes please? I just need a moment of peace and my parents can’t leave me alone for a second. It’s almost as if I was still a baby and I can’t take any decisions for myself and it’s overwhelming, I can’t deal with this right now.” Regina looked at her. She looked like a defeated puppy and Regina felt the tug in her heart, so she scooted aside and gestured to Emma to take a seat next to her. Emma sat down with a grateful smile.

They sat in silence next to each other for a while, the music from the party playing softly in the background. Finally, Regina couldn’t take it anymore and since she didn’t want to blurt out her feelings, she settled for a seemingly safe topic.

“So why were your parents pestering you this time?”

“They want me to give Neal a chance. They seem to think it’s true love or some shit like that. I don’t want to give him another chance. He put me in prison to pay for his crimes and because of him, I completely lost faith in love. How horrible is that? To actually lose faith in love? And my parents think he is my true love? How insane can they possibly be? And they are telling me that I could have my happy ending with him and Henry and that we could be a family like we were always supposed to be. He is not my happy ending Regina, and the only family I want to be in, is the one where Henry has both his mothers. But they don’t understand that. They don’t understand that a blood bond is not enough to make a family. Neal is just a sperm donor as far as I am concerned and he is certainly not a father to Henry. But how could they understand that? They shipped me to Maine, they sacrificed me to hypothetically save them later on. And they don’t see anything wrong with that. They expect me to be this perfect daughter and this perfect princess without realizing that they never were parents to me. They still aren’t. They have the audacity to think that they have a right to decisions about my life tough.” Emma was getting riled up and her voice was getting louder. Regina placed a hand on her leg and made soothing circles. The gesture seemed to calm Emma and made her look at Regina. She had a deep look of regret etched on her beautiful face and she seemed so sad, it hurt Emma to even witness it.

“I’m sorry Emma, it’s my fault if they put you in that magical wardrobe. Had I not cast the curse, you would have grown up as a spoiled princess and you would have had all the love you deserved. Your parents are still idiots but it’s not fair to blame them for your horrible childhood since I was the only one responsible for that.”

“No Regina, stop it, don’t apologize for what happened to me. I don’t blame you for my shitty upbringing. They are supposed to be the good guys, the heroes, the ones who always find a third way to defeat an enemy. But with me, they didn’t even think twice. They actually thought it was a good idea to leave a baby in an unknown world. They could have found a way. And if they hadn’t, we could still have been together in this new land. But the greater good was more important than their daughter, so they sacrificed me. You don’t have anything to do with that. And If you hadn’t cast the curse, we both wouldn’t have had Henry.”

Regina didn’t know what to say. She was astonished to say the least that Emma genuinely didn’t blame her for her childhood. She felt a whole new wave of love for the blonde flood her senses and she had to resist to the urge of pulling her into a hug and never letting her go again. She tried to change the subject to the other thing that had been troubling the savior. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry they are trying to force you together with Neal. No one should ever enter a relationship to please others. And I’m very grateful that you still want me to be in Henry’s life. You really are a good person Emma and I would be honored to be considered a part of your family with Henry. I’m sure together we can make a little family of our own with Henry and you will never be abandoned again Emma, I promise.”

Emma looked up at her with tears in her eyes and smiled a beautiful smile. “I’d like that”. She let her head rest on Regina’s shoulder and they returned to silence once again, both looking out at the garden and contemplating the conversation they just had. Both were thinking about how much they meant to one another and Emma knew she was in love with Regina and she hoped she would get the chance to be more than just co-parents with the beautiful brunette.

In the background a new song was started, and Regina felt Emma stiffen against her. She recognized the lyrics immediately. It was “I am not nothing” from Beth Crowley. She knew the song because it was the song Emma was listening to when she was feeling anxious on the way to Neverland.

_'I will forgive myself and accept that who you chose to be was out of my control'_

By the time this line had come around, Emma had completely broken down and she was heavily crying into Regina’s shoulder. Regina wasted no time and enveloped her in a hug, her protective instincts taking over.

“Shhhh, it’s okay. You’re safe Emma, you’re safe. It’s okay, I got you, you’re not alone anymore.” Emma just cried harder and Regina rocked her until the song faded away and it was just them, Emma letting go of her awful past, comforted by the embrace of the one person she actually felt safe with.

Emma stayed in her embrace until the song ended and she went back to sit against the tree, immediately feeling the loss of comfort the other woman offered her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to break down, it’s just too much sometimes you know, all this pressure and these expectations to be the perfect princess and the savior.”

“It’s fine Emma, you can cry all you want with me, I’m never going to judge you for showing your emotions. But why did this song make you break down? When we were on our way to Neverland you used to listen to this to give you courage so what changed?” When she saw the look of panic and pain on Emma’s face, she backtracked “you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, I was just wondering.”

“You remember the music I listened to?” Emma looked shocked.

“Of course, we had to sleep in the same room and every time your idiot parents gave a hope speech, you ran to our room and when I came in, that song would play on repeat. The lyrics are quite beautiful and meaningful, but I always wondered why you seemed to draw so much strength from it.”

“Yes, it’s a beautiful song. When I ran away from my last foster home, I had to live on the street for a while cause I didn’t have anything. One day, this man came up to me and offered me breakfast. He offered me a place to stay and a job as a waitress in the restaurant he owned. On my first day there, this was the first song I heard that morning and when I looked up the lyrics, it was like they had been written for me. Since then, I used this song as a reminder of my own strength and to remind me of the fact that no matter what I’m going through, I can always find my way back to the top. But now, since we’ve come back from Neverland I mean, I hear this song and all I can think about is how my parents abandoned me for the sake of their kingdom. And I am so mad about it. They ruined my life for 28 years and now they’re taking away my song? I guess that’s why I burst into tears. They do not know me, they don’t have the right to dictate my life choices, they don’t have the right to try and be parents to me. They’re 28 years too late for that and they should have never put me in that stupid wardrobe if they wanted to be my parents. You know, if it had been Henry, neither of us would have even entertained the thought of putting him in that wardrobe. We would have raised hell and moved heaven and earth to find another solution. Why wasn’t I worth fighting for?”

“Oh Emma, you’re worth fighting for, don’t ever doubt that. You’re right, we would never sacrifice Henry for the greater good, no matter what and your parents made a wrong decision by sending you away, but don’t doubt for a second that there are people out there who would go to the same lengths of effort to save you as for Henry. I know for a fact that Henry would be one of them.”

“And who are these other people Regina? I’m alone, I always have been since my parents gave up on me and in the end, everyone always gives up on me.” Emma sagged down against the tree, looking more defeated than ever and despite her apprehension, Regina just could not let that happen. She had to let Emma see how much she was worth for her and that she had no reason to question her self-worth like that.

“I would Emma, I would go to hell and back for you, to give you the chance to live a happy life. I would do everything in my power to make you see that you are more than an orphan or a savior. In fact, that’s what I’m going to do from now on, if you’ll let me. I will make sure that you never feel worthless again. Because I cannot stand the sight of you so defeated. You deserve so much more than this. You’re a beautiful human being Emma and I…I want to see you happy.” Regina placed two fingers under Emma’s chin and tilted her head up, so they were looking at each other. Emma had tears in her eyes and looked so much like a drowned puppy it broke Regina’s heart. She leaned in and whispered against her lips “I’m going to kiss you now.” and closed the gap.

Emma’s eyes widened before she melted in the kiss completely and never had something felt so right to her than that kiss. In that moment, Emma realized that she was in love with Regina and that she would do everything for this woman. She kissed back with a passion she hoped conveyed the love she felt for Regina and apparently it worked, because Regina pulled back after a few minutes, breathless.

“Wow…Emma…. that was….”

“Everything.”

“You felt it too?” Regina was surprised at the convinced tone of Emma’s statement. Did Emma feel the same? Something had shifted between them during that kiss. When Emma had kissed back, Regina had felt a wave of love wash over her and it took her breath away.

“Yes, I did. And if you don’t mind, I would really love to feel it again” she said before leaning in again and kissing Regina with more intent this time. After making out for a very long time, they pulled apart and smiled at each other. It was clear in their eyes; this was their happy beginning. They both agreed that they wanted more from this and Regina happily said yes when Emma asked her out on a date, because after all ‘she was a queen and deserved to be courted like one’ in Emma’s eyes. They were basking in the glow of their first kisses when Emma chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Regina asked.

“You know, this evening turned out pretty damn good for me, even tough it started out like shit. If only we could spend the rest of the night out here, cuddled up without having to worry about anyone else. To be fair, I never saw this coming, but I am so happy. Since Neverland you have been my rock and you have been once again tonight. It’s like you’re able to erase every negative emotion and turn it into a happy one”

“I’ll gladly be your rock as long as you want me Emma. I just want to see you happy and seeing you in pain, is painful for me too. There is still one thing I’d like to change tonight. That song that played tonight, ‘I’m not nothing’, I want to turn it into something good for you again. It was important for you trough your hardest moments and it would really be a shame if it turned into a source of sadness because of the Charmings.” Regina tried to explain.

“And how are you going to do that, Your Majesty?” Emma asked with a wondering smile.

Regina searched her phone and put on the song. “Will you please accept this dance from me Emma?” She detached herself from their cuddle and stood up, reaching her hand out to Emma.

Emma got the most beautiful smile on her face when she looked up at Regina and happily took her hand. They swayed together to the song and even if it wasn’t made to dance to, in that moment, it all made perfect sense. Emma allowed Regina’s embrace to take away every negative feeling coursing trough her at the sound of the song and she replaced it with the feeling of being safe. Because that’s what she felt like in those arms. She felt safe, wrapped in a comforting cocoon. This time, the tears she shed, were ones of happiness. When the song ended Regina pulled Emma in a hug and whispered in her ear

“I love you Emma”

Emma let a few sobs escape, but she rapidly cleared her throat and said in a raspy voice “Regina…thank you for this. No one ever did something like this for me. I can’t find the right words to express how much this meant for me, that you wanted to make this song a happy one for me again. Which you did brilliantly by the way. Now, every time this song comes up, I’ll be reminded of this moment and of this dance and of all the love I feel for you and I couldn’t thank you enough for this. I…I love you so much.”

They sealed their confessions with a breathtaking kiss and for the first time that evening, they both felt completely at peace. Both were very impatient to see what the future would bring for them, but for now they were just enjoying the feeling of finally feeling loved unconditionally by each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is the first time I'm posting something on here, so any feedback is welcome! Hope you enjoy this little story.
> 
> I have other stories and ideas for this universe, but I'm still hesitating to put them up. Let me know if you're interested in me continuing this serie.  
> Thank you to everyone who comments and/or leaves kudos!


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